Thursday, May 22, 2008

OBR News-o-rama

OBR News-o-rama

A Little Help, Please

Posted: 22 May 2008 01:45 PM CDT

Savage's comments about the media, made on corporate radio partner WTAM this morning, make some level of sense. Certainly, there's nothing wrong with a GM wishing for less controversy to appear in the press.

Of course, there's nothing that the team or the media can do about the simple fact that people are more interested in reading about potential controversies than reading about people just going about their jobs.

That's just human nature. We rubberneck on the highways when there's an accident, not when there's a car simply driving along at the speed limit.

Still, speaking as someone who runs a print and internet site focusing on the Browns, I can assure the Browns GM that we love running positive stories, like the one we ran on Antwan Peek the other day. Sure, we run stories that are newsworthy and may not be things you prefer fans be reading about, but we do the others as well.

Browns fans can't read enough about this team. For what it's worth, there's not a member of the OBR staff who doesn't want to see the team succeed.

However, if Savage and other members of the team hope for more coverage of positive stories from the independent media, here are some things that they may choose to do:

1. Tell player agents to be straight with the media when they ask about their intentions. The sole reason the Winslow story came up is because he signed with an aggressive agent who didn't give a straight answer to questions back in February. If he had, there would never have any catalyst for speculation about Winslow's intentions.

2. Instead of allowing the media access one day a week for OTAs, allow the media in more frequently. With only one day of access, the media has to go after the hot story, and in this case that was K2, just as last year it was Braylon Edwards. They have to do what they can in the time available. Perhaps with greater access to players who are there and working, more stories would be written about these individuals. You see more of these types of stories during training camp, simply because access exists.

3. Help all media members keep a positive attitude about the team by not playing favorites with media entities. Of course, we know the team has financial relationships with WTAM, WKYC, Plain Dealer and one of the cable networks. Still, you should try to be responsive and fair to all legitimate media outlets. Believe me, that impacts attitudes towards the team and can effect the tone of coverage.

4. Understand that the sports media is going through a transition. Newspapers are struggling in the internet age, and a lot of folks think their jobs might be in peril. At the same time, the team limits their ability to monetize their coverage of the team by banning audio and video from camps, tilting the playing field to their own internal coverage, and so forth. It makes a tough situation worse. Again, this can influence the tone of coverage.

5. On the web, especially, journalists look for unique stories they can write.  The team's own staff often write these sort of positive stories about athletes, making them less valuable for independent journalists to write. When teams control media coverage either directly or through partnerships, it pushes the "outside" media towards more controversial topics. 

Just some things to think about. The media are doing their jobs, and may not always do them in the way that you might prefer. At the same time, teams and the NFL should consider how their own conduct might spin media coverage in a positive or negative way.

- Barry
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